First Time Investors: 5 Reasons To Examine Short Sales

With the current state of the economy and the real estate market, many individuals are holding off on purchasing a home. On the other hand, you will see that professional investors are buying up properties as soon as they hit the real estate market. These properties are either foreclosures or short sales. Why do they do this? Because they are able to make a profit.

If you want to become a first-time investor, target short sales. Why?

1 – It Is a Great Starting Point

As previously stated, professional investors are buying foreclosed properties and often in large amounts. As a first-time investor, you may find foreclosure auctions to be intimidating. You are in a room with hundreds of foreclosed properties for sale, but also hundreds of experts in the field of investing and real estate. To get started, try foreclosure short sales. It is less intimating.

With foreclosure short sales, you deal directly with a real estate agent or the mortgage lender. Yes, others may be competing for the same home or property, but you will not have to meet with them face to face or go through a rigorous and fast-paced auction.

2 – You Get a Good Deal

Short sales are a foreclosure alternative. Foreclosures appear on credit ratings for at least 7 years and most borrowers later find themselves declaring bankruptcy. So, they suggest a short sale to the lender. The lender will usually agree to a short sale once the borrower has reached the point of no return. They cannot pay their mortgage and foreclosure will happen. For mortgage lenders, foreclosure proceedings are long, full of hassle, and costly. They want to avoid the process just as much as the borrowers.

As for how you get a good deal, a short sale involves selling a property for less than the outstanding mortgage due. For example, if a home is valued at $125,000, the outstanding mortgage is $100,000, you could expect to pay around $80,000 or less. Your goal is to pay as little as possible, but you still profit when the short sale price is significantly lower than the home’s appraised or fair market value.

3 – Bargaining Power

As previously stated, you want to pay as little as possible for a short sale property. This is how you make a profit. Many lenders want to unload the property as quickly as possible, even if it means losing money. Their view is “at lest we get some and the property is not our problem anymore.” On the other hand, you will find lenders and real estate agents who try to sell the home at fair market value. If you know the home is a short sale property or in pre foreclosure stages, bargain. You have nothing to lose and you may get a better deal.

4 – The Many Ways You Can Profit

As an investor, the goal is to make money. You invest money into a short sale property and use it to turn a profit. There are many ways do so. The easiest and quickest approach is to buy a short sale property, turn around and sell it. Your next option is to improve the home by making needed repairs or valuable upgrades. This should improve the home’s attractiveness to buyers, increase its value, and your profits. Your third option is to rent the property. Even single-family homes can be rented for a profit. Unless you have experienced in the rental industry or purchased a home for dirt cheap, this option is not recommended as it could take years before you see any money.

5 – The Profit You Do Make

As previously stated, investors have multiple ways in which they can profit from short sale properties. How much you make will depend on a number of factors. These include the home’s fair market value, the amount you paid, whether repairs were made, the resell price, or the rental rate. The good news is the different options give you complete control over home much money you make with short sales, how, and when.